Simple disposable absorbent article

ABSTRACT

A disposable absorbent article may comprise a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region between the waist regions. A web of the article may comprise an interior surface and an exterior surface. The web may be folded at a first fold line and attached to itself forming a first hem. The web may be folded at a second fold line and attached to itself forming a second hem. The web may be folded over at a third fold line toward the longitudinal axis and attached to the interior surface of one or both of the web and absorbent assembly in the front and back waist regions forming a first side flap. The web may be folded over at a fourth fold line toward the longitudinal axis and attached to the interior surface of one or both of the web and absorbent assembly in the front and back waist regions forming a second side flap. The first side flap may comprise the first hem and the second side flap may comprise the second hem. Each of the first and second hems may comprise a longitudinally extending gathering member. The proximal edges of the first and second side flaps may be disposed laterally inward of the respective side edges.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/770,043filed Feb. 2, 2004, the substance of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to disposable absorbent articles such asdisposable absorbent articles and other articles intended for use onincontinent persons.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Disposable absorbent articles are designed to absorb and contain bodilywaste in order to prevent soiling of the body and clothing of thewearer, as well as bedding or other objects with which the wearer comesinto contact.

As the usage of disposable absorbent articles has expanded, theircomplexity has increased with the incorporation of additional featuresserving to enhance their performance and appearance. The costs of thematerials and the costs of the manufacturing processes have alsoincreased in conjunction with the increase in complexity. As a result,the prices at which these articles are sold have risen to levels thatmany potential purchasers around the world cannot afford to pay. Thus, aneed exists for a simple disposable absorbent article.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A disposable absorbent article may comprise a front waist region, a backwaist region, a crotch region between the waist regions. The article maycomprise a front waist edge and a back waist edge. A longitudinal axismay extend from a midpoint of the front waist edge through the crotchregion to a midpoint of the longitudinally opposed back waist edge. Aweb of the article may comprise an interior surface and an exteriorsurface. An absorbent assembly of the article may comprise an interiorsurface and an exterior surface. The web may be folded at a first foldline and attached to itself forming a first hem, and the first hem maycomprise a first layer and a second layer, and the second layer may bedisposed between the first layer and the backsheet.

The web may be folded at a second fold line and attached to itselfforming a second hem, and the second hem may comprises a first layer anda second layer, and the second layer may disposed between the firstlayer and the backsheet.

The web may be folded over at a third fold line toward the longitudinalaxis and attached to the interior surface of one or both of the web andabsorbent assembly in the front and back waist regions forming a firstside flap. The third fold line may form a first side edge of the diaper.

The web may be folded over at a fourth fold line toward the longitudinalaxis and attached to the interior surface of one or both of the web andabsorbent assembly in the front and back waist regions forming a secondside flap. The fourth fold line may form a second side edge of thediaper.

The first side flap may comprise the first hem and the second side flapmay comprise the second hem. Each of the first and second hems maycomprise a longitudinally extending gathering member. The proximal edgesof the first and second side flaps may be disposed laterally inward ofthe respective side edges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawing figures, like reference numerals identifylike elements, which may or may not be identical in the severalexemplary embodiments that are depicted. Some of the figures may havebeen simplified by the omission of selected elements for the purpose ofmore clearly showing other elements. Such omissions of elements in somefigures are not necessarily indicative of the presence or absence ofparticular elements in any of the exemplary embodiments, except as maybe explicitly delineated in the corresponding written description.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an exemplary disposable absorbent article inthe form of a diaper 20, which is shown in its flat, uncontracted state,i.e., without the contraction induced by elastic members. In FIG. 1, theinterior portion of the diaper 20 that faces inwardly toward the wearerand contacts the wearer is shown facing the viewer.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 1 in its flat,uncontracted state, with the exterior portion of the diaper 20 thatfaces outwardly away from the wearer shown facing the viewer.

FIG. 3 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 1 taken at the sectionline 3-3.

FIG. 4 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 1 taken at the sectionline 4-4.

FIG. 5 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 1 taken at the sectionline 5-5.

FIG. 6 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 1 taken at the sectionline 6-6.

FIG. 7 is a simplified side elevation view of an exemplary diaper 20being worn about a lower torso of a wearer.

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 7 being wornabout the lower torso of the wearer.

FIG. 9 is a back elevation view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 7 being wornabout the lower torso of the wearer.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an exemplary diaper 20 shown in its flat,uncontracted state, i.e., without the contraction induced by elasticmembers, before the side flaps 147 a and 147 b are formed by foldingportions of the chassis 100 laterally inward, i.e., toward thelongitudinal axis 42. In FIG. 10, the interior portion of the diaper 20that faces inwardly toward the wearer and contacts the wearer is shownfacing the viewer.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 10 in its flat,uncontracted state, with the exterior portion of the diaper 20 thatfaces outwardly away from the wearer shown facing the viewer.

FIG. 12 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 10 taken at thesection line 12-12.

FIG. 13 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 10 taken at thesection line 13-13.

FIG. 14 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 10 taken at thesection line 14-14.

FIG. 15 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 10 taken at thesection line 15-15.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an exemplary diaper 20, which is shownin its relaxed, contracted state, i.e., with the contraction induced byelastic members. In FIG. 16, the interior portion of the diaper 20 thatfaces inwardly toward the wearer and contacts the wearer is shown facingupward.

FIG. 17 is plan view of an exemplary diaper 20 shown in its flat,uncontracted state, i.e., without the contraction induced by elasticmembers, in which portions of the chassis are left laid out flat whenother portions are folded laterally inward to form the side flaps 147 aand 147 b.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of an exemplary diaper 20 shown in its flat,uncontracted state, i.e., without the contraction induced by elasticmembers, in which portions of the chassis are folded over and attachedto the interior surface of the absorbent assembly to impart an hourglassshape to the diaper 20.

FIG. 19 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 18 taken at thesection line 19-19.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of an exemplary fragment of a formed webmaterial.

FIG. 21 is a simplified plan view of an exemplary disposable absorbentarticle in the form of a diaper 20, which is shown in its flat,uncontracted state, i.e., without the contraction induced by elasticmembers, having adhesive tape tabs 114 a and 114 b and a fasteningsurface 116 attached to the chassis. In FIG. 21, the interior portion ofthe diaper 20 that faces inwardly toward the wearer and contacts thewearer is shown facing the viewer.

FIG. 22 is a simplified plan view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 21 in itsflat, uncontracted state, with the exterior portion of the diaper 20that faces outwardly away from the wearer shown facing the viewer.

FIG. 23 is a simplified left side elevation view of an exemplary diaper20 including cohesive fastening patches being worn about a lower torsoof a wearer.

FIG. 24 is a simplified right side elevation view of the diaper 20 ofFIG. 23 including cohesive fastening patches being worn about the lowertorso of the wearer.

FIG. 25 is a plan view of an exemplary diaper 20 shown in its flat,uncontracted state, i.e., without the contraction induced by elasticmembers, in which alternative forms of cohesive fastening patches areshown incorporated. In FIG. 25, the interior portion of the diaper 20that faces inwardly toward the wearer and contacts the wearer is shownfacing the viewer.

FIG. 26 is a plan view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 25 in its flat,uncontracted state, with the exterior portion of the diaper 20 thatfaces outwardly away from the wearer shown facing the viewer.

FIG. 27 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 25 taken at thesection line 27-27.

FIG. 28 is a section view of the diaper 20 of FIG. 25 taken at thesection line 28-28.

FIG. 29 is a plan view of an exemplary absorbent assembly 200. In FIG.29, the absorbent assembly 200 is shown separately from a chassis 100 towhich it is attached in an exemplary diaper 20 and the interior portionof the absorbent assembly 200 that faces inwardly toward the wearer andcontacts the wearer is shown facing the viewer.

FIG. 30 is a section view of the absorbent assembly 200 of FIG. 29 takenat the section line 30-30.

FIG. 31 is a section view of the absorbent assembly 200 of FIG. 29 takenat the section line 31-31.

FIG. 32 is a section view of an exemplary absorbent assembly 200 showingdetails of an exemplary absorbent core.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Definitions

In this description, the following terms have the following meanings:

The term “absorbent article” refers to a device that absorbs andcontains liquid, and more specifically, refers to a device that isplaced against or in proximity to the body of the wearer to absorb andcontain the various exudates discharged from the body.

The term “diaper” refers to an absorbent article that is generally wornby infants and incontinent persons about the lower torso so as toencircle the waist and the legs of the wearer and that is specificallyadapted to receive and contain urinary and fecal waste.

The term “disposable” refers to the nature of absorbent articles thatgenerally are not intended to be laundered or otherwise restored orreused as an absorbent article, i.e., they are intended to be discardedafter a single use and, preferably, to be recycled, composted orotherwise disposed of in an environmentally compatible manner.

The term “longitudinal” refers to a direction running from a waist edgeto an opposing waist edge of the article and generally parallel to themaximum linear dimension of the article. Directions within ±45° of thelongitudinal direction are considered to be “longitudinal”.

The term “lateral” refers to a direction running from a side edge to anopposing side edge of the article and generally at a right angle to thelongitudinal direction. Directions within ±45° of the lateral directionare considered to be “lateral”.

The term “disposed” refers to an element being attached and positionedin a particular place or position in a unitary structure with otherelements.

The term “attached” refers to elements being connected or united byfastening, adhering, bonding, etc. by any method suitable for theelements being attached together and their constituent materials. Manysuitable methods for attaching elements together are well-known,including adhesive bonding, pressure bonding, thermal bonding,mechanical fastening, etc. Such attachment methods may be used to attachelements together over a particular area either continuously orintermittently.

The term “cohesive” refers to the property of a material that sticks toitself but does not to any significant degree stick to other materials.

The terms “water-permeable” and “water-impermeable” refer to thepenetrability of materials in the context of the intended usage ofdisposable absorbent articles. Specifically, the term “water-permeable”refers to a layer or a layered structure having pores, openings, and/orinterconnected void spaces that permit liquid water to pass through itsthickness in the absence of a forcing pressure. Conversely, the term“water-impermeable” refers to a layer or a layered structure through thethickness of which liquid water cannot pass in the absence of a forcingpressure. A layer or a layered structure that is water-impermeableaccording to this definition may be permeable to water vapor, i.e., maybe “vapor-permeable”. As is well known in the art, a common method formeasuring the permeability to water of the materials typically used inabsorbent articles is a hydrostatic pressure test, also called ahydrostatic head test or simply a “hydrohead” test. Suitable well knowncompendial methods for hydrohead testing are approved by INDA (formerlythe International Nonwovens and Disposables Association, now TheAssociation of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry) and EDANA (EuropeanDisposables And Nonwovens Association).

The terms “proximal” and “distal” refer respectively to the location ofan element near to or far from the center of a structure, e.g., theproximal edge of a longitudinally extending element is located nearer tothe longitudinal axis than the distal edge of the same element islocated relative to the same longitudinal axis.

Description of Exemplary Diaper Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, one endportion of the exemplary diaper 20 is configured as a front waist region36. The longitudinally opposing end portion of the diaper 20 isconfigured as a back waist region 38. An intermediate portion of thediaper 20 extending longitudinally between the front waist region 36 andthe back waist region 38 is configured as a crotch region 37.

The basic structure of the diaper 20 includes a chassis 100. The chassis100 has a laterally extending front waist edge 136 in the front waistregion 36 and a longitudinally opposing and laterally extending backwaist edge 138 in the back waist region 38. The chassis 100 has alongitudinally extending left side edge 137 a and a laterally opposingand longitudinally extending right side edge 137 b, both chassis sideedges extending longitudinally between the front waist edge 136 and theback waist edge 138. The chassis 100 has an interior surface 102 and anexterior surface 104. The chassis 100 also has a longitudinal axis 42and a lateral axis 44. The longitudinal axis 42 extends through themidpoint of the front waist edge 136 and through the midpoint of theback waist edge 138 of the chassis 100. The lateral axis 44 extendsthrough the midpoint of the left side edge 137 a and through themidpoint of the right side edge 137 b of the chassis 100. The exemplarychassis 100 shown in FIG. 1 additionally has longitudinally extendingand laterally opposing side flaps 147 a and 147 b that are described inmore detail below.

The basic structure of the diaper 20 also includes an absorbent assembly200 that is attached to the chassis 100. The absorbent assembly 200 hasa laterally extending front edge 236 in the front waist region 36 and alongitudinally opposing and laterally extending back edge 238 in theback waist region 38. The absorbent assembly 200 has a longitudinallyextending left side edge 237 a and a laterally opposing andlongitudinally extending right side edge 237 b, both absorbent assemblyside edges extending longitudinally between the front edge 236 and theback edge 238. The absorbent assembly 200 has an interior surface 202and an exterior surface 204. The absorbent assembly 200 may be disposedsymmetrically with respect to either or both of the longitudinal axis 42and the lateral axis 44. Alternatively, the absorbent assembly 200 maybe disposed asymmetrically with respect to either or both of thelongitudinal axis 42 and the lateral axis 44. For example, the absorbentassembly 200 shown in FIG. 1 is disposed symmetrically with respect tothe longitudinal axis 42 and asymmetrically with respect to the lateralaxis 44. In particular, the absorbent assembly 200 shown in FIG. 1 isdisposed asymmetrically toward the front waist region 36.

The respective front edge 236, back edge 238, left side edge 237 a, andright side edge 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200 may lie inward ofthe respective front waist edge 136, back waist edge 138, left side edge137 a, and right side edge 137 b of the chassis 100, as in the exemplarydiaper 20 shown in FIG. 1. Such a configuration in which one or more ofthe edges of the absorbent assembly 200 lies inward of the correspondingedges of the chassis 100 may be desirable, for example, in order toallow the relatively more flexible layer or layers adjacent to the edgesof the chassis to conform to the body of the wearer and thereby formeffective gasket-like seals against the skin of the wearer without beingconstrained by a relatively thicker and relatively less flexibleabsorbent assembly. Alternatively, one or more of the edges of theabsorbent assembly 200 may coincide with the corresponding edge or edgesof the chassis 100.

As shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and FIG. 9, when the diaper 20 is worn onthe lower torso of a wearer, the front waist edge 136 and the back waistedge 138 encircle the waist of the wearer, while at the same time thechassis side edges 137 a and 137 b encircle the legs of the wearer. Atthe same time, the crotch region 37 is generally positioned between thelegs of the wearer and the absorbent assembly 200 extends from the frontwaist region 36 through the crotch region 37 to the back waist region38.

Description of the Chassis

In FIG. 10, FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 14, and FIG. 15, theexemplary chassis 100 is shown laid out flat before the side flaps 147 aand 147 b are formed by folding portions of the chassis 100 laterallyinward, i.e., toward the longitudinal axis 42, to form both therespective side flaps 147 a and 147 b and the side edges 137 a and 137 bof the chassis 100 as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5,and FIG. 6. In this condition of being laid out flat, the chassis 100has a longitudinally extending left outer side edge 155 a and alaterally opposing and longitudinally extending right outer side edge155 b. Both of these chassis outer side edges extend longitudinallybetween the front waist edge 136 and the back waist edge 138. As isdescribed in more detail below, when the side flaps 147 a and 147 b areformed by folding portions of the chassis 100 laterally inward, theouter side edges 155 a and 155 b of the chassis form the respectiveproximal edges 157 a and 157 b of the side flaps. The chassis 100includes a water-impermeable backsheet 26. The backsheet 26 forms anexterior surface that is intended to be placed toward any clothing thatis worn over the diaper 20. Many suitable materials for use as thebacksheet 26 are well-known, including films of polyethylene and otherpolyolefins. Multi-layer backsheets, such as laminates of a film and anonwoven, are also well-known and may be suitable for use as thebacksheet 26. Such a laminate backsheet may be oriented with thenonwoven disposed exteriorly to provide the feel and appearance of amore cloth-like outermost layer than would be provided by using the filmas the outermost layer.

The chassis 100 may, but need not, additionally include an inner liner22 attached to the backsheet 26. The inner liner 22 may form a portionof the interior surface 102 of the chassis 100 that is intended to beplaced against the body of the wearer. The inner liner 22 preferably isformed of a soft material that will not irritate the skin of the wearer.Such an inner liner 22 may serve to isolate the skin of the wearer froma portion of the backsheet 26 as may be desirable, for example, when thediaper 20 is worn under conditions in which contact between the skin anda backsheet film could be uncomfortable. Many suitable materials for theinner liner 22 are well-known in the art, including rayon and syntheticnonwovens such as spunbonded or carded polypropylene or polyester. Theinner liner 22 may extend to the same width and the same length as thebacksheet 26. For example, in the exemplary chassis 100 shown in FIG. 10and FIG. 11, the edges of the inner liner 22 are not separatelyidentified because the inner liner 22 has the same extent as thebacksheet 26.

Alternatively, one or more of the edges of the inner liner 22 may lieinward of the edges of the backsheet 26. For example, with reference tothe exemplary diaper 20 shown in FIG. 1, only the portions of the innerliner 22 lying in the gaps between the front edge 236 of the absorbentassembly 200 and the front waist edge 136 of the chassis 100 and betweenthe back edge 238 of the absorbent assembly 200 and the back waist edge138 of the chassis 100 are exposed, while the remainder of the innerliner 22 is covered by the absorbent assembly 200 and the side flaps 147a and 147 b. Therefore, a laterally extending strip of the inner liner22 disposed in the gap in the front waist region 36 and a similarlaterally extending strip of the inner liner 22 disposed in the gap inthe back waist region 38 may suffice to isolate the skin of the wearerfrom the backsheet 26 in these two gaps.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, theexemplary chassis 100 has longitudinally extending and laterallyopposing side flaps 147 a and 147 b that are disposed on the interiorportion of the diaper 20 that faces inwardly toward the wearer andcontacts the wearer. The side flaps 147 a and 147 b may be formed byfolding portions of the chassis 100 laterally inward, i.e., toward thelongitudinal axis 42, to form both the respective side flaps 147 a and147 b and the side edges 137 a and 137 b of the chassis 100.Alternatively, the side flaps 147 a and 147 b may be formed by attachingan additional layer or layers to the chassis 100 at or adjacent to eachof the respective side edges 137 a and 137 b of the chassis 100. Inembodiments in which the side flaps are formed by attaching anadditional layer or layers to the chassis, each of the additional layeror layers may be attached at or adjacent to its laterally distal edge.

Portions of a film backsheet 26 that are folded laterally inward to formthe side flaps may contact the skin of a wearer during the use of thediaper 20. However, the alternating ridges and valleys in such a filmbacksheet that has been deformed in order to make it extensible mayprovide channels through which air can pass to alleviate any concernregarding such contact of the film backsheet with the skin.

In embodiments in which portions of the chassis 100 are folded laterallyinward to form the side flaps 147 a and 147 b, the chassis 100 maysimply be folded loosely or may be creased along a portion of each ofits side edges 137 a and 137 b. For example, it may be desirable to formcreases along portions of the side edges 137 a and 137 b in the crotchregion 37 in order to impart a more finished appearance to the diaper20. Alternatively or in addition to creasing, a portion of each of thefolded side flaps 147 a and 147 b adjacent to the side edges 137 a and137 b may be attached to the interior surface 102 of the chassis 100 toachieve a similar result.

The left side flap 147 a has a proximal edge 157 a and the right sideflap 147 b has a proximal edge 157 b. In the exemplary diaper 20 shownin FIG. 1, the left side flap 147 a and the right side flap 147 boverlap the absorbent assembly 200, i.e., the proximal edge 157 a andthe proximal edge 157 b lie laterally inward of the respective left sideedge 237 a and right side edge 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200. Suchan overlapped configuration may be desirable in order to impart a morefinished appearance to the diaper 20 than that imparted by anon-overlapped configuration. Alternatively, the left side flap 147 aand the right side flap 147 b may not overlap the absorbent assembly200, i.e., the proximal edge 157 a and the proximal edge 157 b may lielaterally outward of the respective left side edge 237 a and right sideedge 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200.

In the exemplary chassis 100 shown in FIG. 1, the left side flap 147 aand the right side flap 147 b extend the full length of the chassis 100between the front waist edge 136 and the back waist edge 138. Such afull length configuration may be desirable in order to minimize theamount of waste material and the difficulty associated with themanufacture of the diaper 20, especially when the method used tomanufacture the diaper 20 requires the introduction of the material ormaterials for the chassis 100 in the form of a continuous web ormultiple continuous webs. Alternatively, the side flaps may be shorterand extend less than the full distance between the front waist edge 136and the back waist edge 138. Such a shorter configuration may bedesirable in order to minimize the total amount of material used in themanufacture of the diaper 20.

Each of the side flaps 147 a and 147 b is attached to the interiorsurface 102 of the chassis 100 in attachment zones located in the frontwaist region 36 and in the back waist region 38. For example, in thechassis 100 shown in FIG. 1, the side flaps 147 a and 147 b are attachedto the interior surface 102 of the chassis 100 in the adhesiveattachment zones that are shown there and that are more clearly visiblein FIG. 10, where the chassis 100 is shown laid out flat before the sideflaps 147 a and 147 b are formed. In particular, the left side flap 147a is attached to the interior surface 102 of the chassis 100 in alongitudinally oriented adhesive attachment zone 151 a adjacent to itsproximal edge 157 a near the front waist edge 136 and in alongitudinally opposing longitudinally oriented adhesive attachment zone152 a adjacent to its proximal edge 157 a near the back waist edge 138.Similarly, the right side flap 147 b is attached to the interior surface102 of the chassis 100 in a longitudinally oriented adhesive attachmentzone 151 b adjacent to its proximal edge 157 b near the front waist edge136 and in a longitudinally opposing longitudinally oriented adhesiveattachment zone 152 b adjacent to its proximal edge 157 b near the backwaist edge 138. The adhesive attachment zones may have equal areas ormay be unequal in area. For example, the front longitudinally orientedadhesive attachment zones 151 a and 151 b may be of one size and theback longitudinally oriented adhesive attachment zones 152 a and 152 bmay be of another size.

In the exemplary chassis 100 shown in FIG. 1, the left side flap 147 ais also attached to the interior surface 102 of the chassis 100 in alaterally oriented adhesive attachment zone 153 a adjacent to the frontwaist edge 136 and in a longitudinally opposing laterally orientedadhesive attachment zone 154 a adjacent to the back waist edge 138.Similarly, the right side flap 147 b is attached to the interior surface102 of the chassis 100 in a laterally oriented adhesive attachment zone153 b adjacent to the front waist edge 136 and in a longitudinallyopposing laterally oriented adhesive attachment zone 154 b adjacent tothe back waist edge 138. The adhesive attachment zones may have equalareas or may be unequal in area. For example, the front laterallyoriented adhesive attachment zones 153 a and 153 b may be of one sizeand the back laterally oriented adhesive attachment zones 154 a and 154b may be of another size.

Alternatively, each attachment zone may extend laterally across the fullwidth of the respective side flap. For example, a laterally orientedadhesive attachment zone may extend laterally from the chassis left sideedge 137 a to the left side flap edge 157 a and thereby attach theentire width of the left side flap 147 a adjacent to the front waistedge 136 to the interior surface 102 of the chassis 100. In embodimentsin which the front edge 236 or the back edge 238 of the absorbentassembly 200 coincides with the respective front waist edge 136 or backwaist edge 138 of the chassis 100 and the side flaps 147 a and 147 boverlap the absorbent assembly 200, the side flaps 147 a and 147 b maybe attached to the absorbent assembly 200 instead of, or in addition to,being attached to the interior surface 102 of the chassis 100.

Between the attachment zones, the proximal edges 157 a and 157 b of theside flaps 147 a and 147 b remain free, i.e., are not attached to theinterior surface 102 of the chassis 100 or to the absorbent assembly200. Also between the attachment zones, each side flap preferablyincludes a longitudinally extensible flap elastic member that isattached adjacent to the proximal edge of the side flap by any of manywell-known means. Each such flap elastic member may be attached over itsentire length or over only a portion of its length. For example, such aflap elastic member may be attached only at or near its longitudinallyopposing ends and may be unattached at the middle of its length. Such aflap elastic member may be disposed in the crotch region 37 and mayextend into one or both of the front waist region 36 and the back waistregion 38. For example, in the exemplary chassis 100 shown in FIG. 1, anelastic strand 167 a is attached adjacent to the proximal edge 157 a ofthe left side flap 147 a and extends into both the front waist region 36and the back waist region 38. Similarly, an elastic strand 167 b isattached adjacent to the proximal edge 157 b of the right side flap 147b and extends into both the front waist region 36 and the back waistregion 38.

Each flap elastic member may be enclosed inside a folded hem. Forexample, in the exemplary chassis 100 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, theelastic strand 167 a is enclosed inside a hem 170 a formed adjacent tothe proximal edge 157 a of the left side flap 147 a and the elasticstrand 167 b is enclosed inside a hem 170 b formed adjacent to theproximal edge 157 b of the right side flap 147 b. Alternatively, theflap elastic member may be sandwiched between two layers of the chassis,e.g., between the layers of a laminate backsheet or between a backsheetand an inner liner. As another alternative, the flap elastic member maybe attached on a surface of the chassis 100 and remain exposed.

When stretched, the flap elastic member adjacent to each side flap edgeallows the side flap edge to extend to the flat uncontracted length ofthe chassis, e.g., the length of the chassis 100, as shown in FIG. 1.When allowed to relax, the flap elastic member contracts to gather theportion of the side flap edge along which the flap elastic member isattached and thereby make the relaxed length of the side flap edge lessthan the flat uncontracted length of the chassis. For example, when theexemplary diaper 20 is in a relaxed condition as shown in FIG. 16, theelastic strand 167 a contracts to gather the proximal edge 157 a of theleft side flap 147 a and the elastic strand 167 b contracts to gatherthe proximal edge 157 b of the right side flap 147 b. The contractiveforces of the elastic strands 167 a and 167 b are transmitted at therespective front attachment zones 151 a and 151 b to the interiorsurface 102 of the chassis 100 at the front waist region 36. Similarly,the contractive forces of the elastic strands 167 a and 167 b aretransmitted at the respective back attachment zones 152 a and 152 b tothe interior surface 102 of the chassis 100 at the back waist region 38.These contractive forces pull the front waist region 36 and the backwaist region 38 toward each other and thereby bend the diaper 20 into a“U” shape in which the interior of the “U” shape is formed by theportions of the diaper 20 that are intended to be placed toward the bodyof the wearer. Because the proximal edge 157 a remains free between theattachment zones 151 a and 152 a, the contractive force of the elasticstrand 167 a lifts the proximal edge 157 a away from the interiorsurface 102 of the chassis 100. Similarly, because the proximal edge 157b remains free between the attachment zones 151 b and 152 b, thecontractive force of the elastic strand 167 b lifts the proximal edge157 b away from the interior surface 102 of the chassis 100. As shown inFIG. 16, this lifting of the proximal edges 157 a and 157 b when thediaper 20 is in the relaxed condition lifts the side flaps 147 a and 147b into position to serve as side barriers adjacent to the side edges 237a and 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200.

When the diaper 20 is worn, the relaxed “U” shape generally conforms tothe body of the wearer such that the front waist region 36 and the backwaist region 38 can be fastened together to encircle the waist and thelegs of the wearer. When the diaper 20 is worn in this manner, theelastic strands 167 a and 167 b tend to hold the lifted proximal edges157 a and 157 b of the side flaps 147 a and 147 b in contact with thebody of the wearer and thereby form seals to help prevent the leakage ofdeposited bodily waste out of the diaper 20. The lateral spacing of thelifted proximal edges 157 a and 157 b is selected to allow the depositof bodily wastes from the lower torso of the wearer into the spacebetween the lifted side flaps 147 a and 147 b and thereby directly ontothe absorbent assembly 200. The width of each of the side flaps 147 aand 147 b in effect becomes its height when the free portion of itsproximal edge is lifted and the side flap serves as a side barrier toleakage. This height preferably is selected to allow the lifted proximaledges 157 a and 157 b to fit into the leg creases of the body of thewearer at the same time as the absorbent assembly 200 is held in contactwith the body.

In the finished diaper, the chassis may have a generally rectangularshape, as in the exemplary diaper 20 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Such agenerally rectangular configuration may be desirable in order tominimize the amount of waste material and the difficulty associated withthe manufacture of the diaper 20. Alternatively, the chassis may haveside edges 137 a and 137 b that are not straight, but instead are curvedand/or notched, thereby giving an overall shape in plan view of anhourglass or of an “I” to the diaper 20. Such a non-rectangularconfiguration may be desirable in order to impart a tailored appearanceto the diaper 20 when it is worn. Such a non-rectangular configurationmay also be desirable in order to impart an impression that the diaper20 will fit comfortably between the legs of a wearer. Any one of manywell-known ways may be used to form a non-rectangular configuration ofthe chassis. For example, laterally distal portions may be removed fromthe chassis to make its lateral dimension at and adjacent to the lateralaxis 44 smaller than its lateral dimension at and adjacent to the frontwaist edge 136 and smaller than its lateral dimension at and adjacent tothe back waist edge 138, i.e., to make the chassis narrower in thecrotch region 37 than at the waist edges 136 and 138. Alternatively, aportion of each of the side edges 137 a and 137 b may be foldedlaterally inward in order to achieve the same result. Such foldedportions of the side edges 137 a and 137 b may be creased or attached,or both creased and attached, in order to prevent their unfoldment.

An exemplary form of a non-rectangular configuration of the chassis isshown in FIG. 17. As shown in this figure, portions of the chassisextending laterally between the outer side edges and the respective sideedges in one or both of the waist regions may be left laid out flat,i.e., may remain unfolded, when other portions are folded laterallyinward to form the side flaps. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, theportions 106 a and 106 b extending longitudinally from the front waistedge 136 toward the lateral axis 44 in the front waist region 36 andextending laterally between each of the outer side edges 155 a and 155 band the respective side edges 137 a and 137 b may be left laid out flat,i.e., may remain unfolded. Similarly, the portions 108 a and 108 bextending longitudinally from the back waist edge 138 toward the lateralaxis 44 in the back waist region 38 and extending laterally between eachof the outer side edges 155 a and 155 b and the respective side edges137 a and 137 b may be left laid out flat, i.e., may remain unfolded.Other portions extending longitudinally between the portions that remainunfolded and through the crotch region 37 may be folded laterally inwardto form the side flaps 147 a and 147 b. The portions 106 a and 106 b andthe portions 108 a and 108 b form “ears” that project laterally outwardfrom each of the waist regions of the diaper. These ears projectlaterally outward beyond the inward-folded portions and impart an “I”shape to the diaper, as shown in FIG. 17. It is not necessary thatportions remain unfolded at both ends as shown in FIG. 17. For example,the portions 106 a and 106 b in the front waist region 36 may remainunfolded and only the portions 108 a and 108 b in the back waist region38 may be folded laterally inward, or vice versa, in some embodiments.

An alternative way to form an “I”-shaped non-rectangular configurationof the chassis as shown in FIG. 17 is to form the chassis in the “I”shape and attach an additional layer or layers to the interior surfaceof the “I”-shaped chassis at or adjacent to each of the side edges 137 aand 137 b of the chassis 100 to form the respective side flaps 147 a and147 b. In embodiments in which the side flaps are formed by attaching anadditional layer or layers to the chassis, each of the additional layeror layers may be attached at or adjacent to its laterally distal edge.

Another exemplary way to form a non-rectangular configuration of thechassis is shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19. As shown in these figures,laterally opposing portions 107 a and 107 b of the chassis between eachof the side edges 137 a and 137 b and the respective proximal edges 157a and 157 b of the side flaps 147 a and 147 b may be folded laterallyinward in the crotch region 37 along respective diagonal fold lines 105a, 105 b, 105 c, and 105 d such that each of the folded portions 107 aand 107 b of the chassis overlaps the absorbent assembly 200 in thecrotch region 37. The interior surface 102 of each of the foldedportions 107 a and 107 b may be attached to the interior surface 202 ofthe absorbent assembly in the crotch region 37 at attachment zones 109 aand 109 b. This folding and attachment forms “W” shaped folds 112 a and112 b in the chassis in the crotch region 37 as shown in FIG. 19, whileretaining the configuration of the waist regions 36 and 38 as shown inFIG. 3 and FIG. 6. The overall effect on the shape of the chassis is toform an hourglass-shaped configuration as shown in FIG. 18. Theattachment zones 109 a and 109 b may be disposed symmetrically withrespect to either or both of the longitudinal axis 42 and the lateralaxis 44. Alternatively, the attachment zones 109 a and 109 b may bedisposed asymmetrically with respect to either or both of thelongitudinal axis 42 and the lateral axis 44. For example, theattachment zones 109 a and 109 b shown in FIG. 18 are disposedsymmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis 42 andasymmetrically with respect to the lateral axis 44. In particular, theattachment zones 109 a and 109 b shown in FIG. 1 are disposedasymmetrically toward the front waist region 36.

Alternatively, the laterally opposing portions 107 a and 107 b of thechassis may be folded laterally inward in one or both of the waistregions in addition to being folded laterally inward in the crotchregion. For example, in order to simplify the manufacture of the diaper,the laterally opposing portions 107 a and 107 b of the chassis may befolded laterally inward over their entire longitudinal lengths. Theinterior surface 102 of each of the folded portions 107 a and 107 b maybe attached to the interior surface 202 of the absorbent assembly in thecrotch region 37 at attachment zones 109 a and 109 b. This folding andattachment forms “W” shaped folds 112 a and 112 b in the chassis asshown in FIG. 19 over the entire longitudinal lengths of the laterallyopposing portions 107 a and 107 b of the chassis. An hourglass shape maysubsequently be imparted to the chassis when the laterally opposingportions are laterally extended by unfolding at their longitudinallydistal ends to prepare the disposable absorbent article for use in theconfiguration shown in FIG. 18.

A portion or the whole of the chassis 100 may be made extensible to adegree greater than the inherent extensibility of the material ormaterials from which the chassis is made, e.g, the backsheet 26, theinner liner 22, or both. The additional extensibility may be desirablein order to allow the chassis 100 to conform to the body of a wearerduring movement by the wearer. The additional extensibility may also bedesirable, for example, in order to allow the user of a diaper 20including a chassis 100 having a particular size before extension toextend the front waist region 36, the back waist region 38, or bothwaist regions of the chassis 100 to encircle the waist of an individualwearer whose waist circumference falls within a predefined range, i.e.,to tailor the diaper to the individual wearer. Such extension of thewaist region or regions may give the diaper a generally hourglass shape,so long as the crotch region 37 is extended to a relatively lesserdegree than the waist region or regions, and may impart a tailoredappearance to the diaper 20 when it is worn. In addition, the additionalextensibility may be desirable in order to minimize the cost of thediaper. For example, an amount of material that would otherwise besufficient only to make a relatively smaller diaper lacking thisextensibility can be used to make a diaper capable of being extended tofit a wearer larger than the smaller diaper would fit. In other words, alesser amount of material is needed in order to make a diaper capable ofbeing properly fit onto a given size of a wearer when the material ismade extensible as described.

Additional extensibility in the chassis 100 in the lateral direction isrelatively more useful than additional extensibility in the longitudinaldirection. The abdomen of the wearer is likely to expand when the wearerchanges posture from standing to sitting and the corresponding abdominalexpansion increases the circumference that is encircled by the waistedges of the chassis 100, necessitating the lateral extension of thewaist region or regions.

Additional lateral extensibility in the chassis 100 may be provided in avariety of ways. For example, a material or materials from which thechassis 100 is made may be pleated by any of many known methods.Alternatively, all or a portion of the chassis may be made of a formedweb material or a formed laminate of web materials like those describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,801 issued on 21 May 1996 in the name of Chappellet al. An exemplary fragment 300 of such a formed web material 305 isshown in FIG. 20. This formed web material 305 includes distinctlaterally extending regions 310 in which the original material has beenaltered by embossing or another method of deformation to create apattern of generally longitudinally oriented alternating ridges 312 andvalleys 314. The formed web material 305 also includes laterallyextending unaltered regions 316 located between the laterally extendingaltered regions 310.

Such a formed web material 305 can be laterally extended beyond itsoriginal dimension with the application of relatively less force thanthat required to extend the same material to the same extent whenundeformed. In particular, the effects of an application of opposingdivergent forces directed generally perpendicular to the ridges 312 andvalleys 314 include an extension of such a formed web material along anaxis between the opposing forces and the generation of a resistivecontractive force, primarily in the unaltered regions 316. Thisresistive force is relatively smaller than the resistive force that isgenerated by the same material in its unaltered form when extended tothe same extent, at least up to an extension at which the ridges andvalleys in the altered regions flatten and begin to contribute to theresistive force. Thus, such formed web materials exhibit an extensiblebehavior resembling that of traditional elastic materials in the rangeof extensibility that is useful for the type of lateral extensiondesired for use in absorbent articles. However, such formed webmaterials may be made of relatively less expensive materials that arenot inherently elastic and, thus, their use may provide an advantage interms of the cost of manufacturing the absorbent articles.

The range of extensibility of a web material or a laminate that isformed as described in the Chappell et al. '801 patent can be controlledby the degree of deformation of the altered regions and can be variedfrom near zero to a maximum that is dependent upon the originalmaterial. For example, the materials used in the chassis 100 of theexemplary diaper 20 may typically be formed to provide any range ofextensibility from near zero to a maximum of more than 100 percent ofthe original dimension. In some embodiments of the present invention, aportion of the chassis 100 may have a maximum extensibility ofapproximately 20 percent of its original dimension. However, anyparticular value for the maximum extensibility in the range fromapproximately one percent to approximately 100 percent may be selectedto suit a particular choice of the original size of the diaper 20 andthe range of sizes of the intended wearers. In particular, a diaperhaving a specific unextended waist opening circumference may be suitablefor use on wearers having waist circumferences ranging from equal tothis unextended waist opening circumference up to the maximumextensibility.

The front laterally central portion 117 and the back laterally centralportion 118 of the chassis 100 between the attachment zones 151, 152,153, and 154 where the side flaps 147 a and 147 b are attached to theinterior surface 102 of the chassis adjacent to the respective waistedges 137 and 138 may have a different range of extensibility from theportions of the chassis in the attachment zones. Additionally oralternatively, the laterally central portions 117 and 118 may beextensible to a greater or lesser degree when subjected to a given levelof opposing tensile forces, i.e., may be more easily or less easilyextensible, than the portions of the chassis in the attachment zones.For example, if the chassis is made uniformly extensible across itsentire width prior to the formation of the side flaps, the doublelayering in the areas of the attachment zones after the formation of theside flaps may have an effect of decreasing the degree of lateralextensibility of those areas under a given level of opposing tensileforces, such as by the side flaps acting as parallel “springs” that mustbe extended in order to extend the underlying attached portion of thechassis. As another example, the altered regions in the laterallycentral portions of the chassis may be deformed to a greater or a lesserdegree than the altered regions in the attachment zones to render thelaterally central portions more easily or less easily extensible thanthe respective portions in the attachment zones.

Such differential range of extensibility and/or differentialrelationship of tensile force to extensibility may be desirable. Forexample, when the waist regions are laterally extended by a user whenapplying a diaper to the body of a wearer, each waist region istypically subjected to a generally uniform level of opposing tensileforces across its entire width, so long as the user grasps the diaper ator adjacent to the laterally opposing side edges. If the laterallycentral portion of the chassis is less easily extensible than theportions in the attachment zones, the lateral spacing between theproximal edges 157 a and 157 b of the side flaps will increase lessunder a given level of applied tensile forces than if the laterallycentral portion were equally easily extensible or more easily extensiblethan the portions in the attachment zones. This effect of minimizing thechange in the lateral spacing between the side flaps may help to ensurethat the diaper fits as intended on the body of the wearer by, forexample, making it more likely that the proximal edges 157 a and 157 bof the side flaps will fit into the leg creases of the body while thediaper is being worn.

Any of a variety of materials may be formed as described in the Chappellet al. '801 patent. For example, a film, a nonwoven, or a laminate ofeither or both of these materials may be formed to provide the desiredextensibility. It is also possible to modify such a material in morethan one way while forming it to provide extensibility. For example, afilm that is originally formed to resist the permeation of vapor throughits thickness and to contain fine particles of a granular fillermaterial such as calcium carbonate may be treated as described in theChappell et al. '801 patent to simultaneously provide extensibility andcreate small holes that allow water vapor to pass through its thickness.Thus, the film can simultaneously be rendered extensible and breathable.

The front waist region 36 and the back waist region 38 can be fastenedtogether to encircle the waist and the legs of the wearer in manywell-known ways. For example, separate fastening devices such as safetypins, separate tapes, a separate tie strap or straps, and/or a separatebelt can be used for this purpose. Alternatively or in addition,fastening elements can be incorporated into the chassis 100 to enable auser to apply the diaper 20 to the body of the wearer without, or inconjunction with, any separate fastening devices. Many suitable types ofsuch incorporated fastening elements are well-known, including, forexample, tapes, adhesives, adhesive tape tabs, ties, buttons, hooks,loops, snap fasteners, other forms of mechanical fasteners, cohesivepatches, etc. These incorporated fastening elements may projectlaterally outward, i.e., away from the longitudinal axis 42 beyond oneor both of the side edges 137 a and 137 b and/or may projectlongitudinally outward, i.e., away from the lateral axis 44 beyond oneor both of the waist edges 136 and 138 or they may lie entirely insidethe edges of the diaper 20. When a laminate backsheet is used and isoriented with the nonwoven disposed exteriorly, some forms of mechanicalfasteners that typically require specific mating fastener elements, suchas hooks that mate with loops, may be configured to engage with thenonwoven and thereby make the inclusion of the specific mating fastenerelement unnecessary.

For example, as shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, laterally opposingadhesive tape tabs 114 a and 114 b may be attached to the chassis 100 ator adjacent to the side edges 137 a and 137 b of the diaper 20. Theadhesive tape tabs 114 a and 114 b shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 projectlaterally outward from the respective side edges 137 a and 137 b in theback waist region 38. In use, the adhesive tape tabs 114 a and 114 bshown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 may be adhered to the exterior surface 104of the chassis 100 in the front waist region 36 to fasten the back waistregion 38 to the front waist region 36 in a back-over-front manner.Alternatively, similar adhesive tape tabs may be attached to the chassis100 in the front waist region 36 and used to fasten the front waistregion 36 to the back waist region 38 in a front-over-back manner.Suitable adhesive tapes are available from the 3M Corporation of St.Paul, Minn., U.S.A., under the designation of XMF99121.

Each of the adhesive tape tabs may be formed of two or more layers anddifferent ones of these layers may be attached to different surfaces ofthe chassis. For example, as shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, an interiorlayer 114 c of the left adhesive tape tab 114 a is attached onto theleft side flap 147 a, while an exterior layer 114 d of the left adhesivetape tab 114 a is attached onto the exterior surface 104 of the chassis100. Similarly, an interior layer 114 e of the right adhesive tape tab114 b is attached onto the right side flap 147 b, while an exteriorlayer 114 f of the right adhesive tape tab 114 b is attached onto theexterior surface 104 of the chassis 100. This form of attachment ofadhesive tape tabs to the chassis provides the advantage that each ofthe interior layer and the exterior layer of each adhesive tape tab issubjected essentially to only a shear force at its attachment to thechassis, rather than being subjected to both shear and peel forces. Forexample, any tendency of the interior layer 114 c to peel off of theleft side flap 147 a is counteracted by the exterior layer 114 d actingin tension to prevent the interior layer 114 c from peeling off.Conversely, any tendency of the exterior layer 114 d to peel off of theexterior surface 104 of the chassis 100 is counteracted by the interiorlayer 114 c acting in tension to prevent the exterior layer 114 d frompeeling off. The exterior layers of the adhesive tape tabs shown in FIG.21 and FIG. 22 extend farther toward the longitudinal axis than do theinterior layers of the adhesive tape tabs. Alternatively, the interiorlayers may extend farther toward the longitudinal axis than the exteriorlayers, or both layers may extend equally far toward the longitudinalaxis. If the materials onto which the layers of the adhesive tape tabdiffer in tensile strength or if the attachment of the adhesive tape tabis relatively more secure on one of the surfaces, it may be desirablethat the layer that is attached to the stronger material or that is moresecurely attached to the surface extend farther toward the longitudinalaxis in order to distribute the force carried by the adhesive tape tabdisproportionately onto the stronger material or the more secureattachment.

Optionally, a fastening sheet 116 may be attached onto the exteriorsurface 104 of the chassis 100 in the front waist region 36 as shown inFIG. 21 and FIG. 22. The fastening sheet 116 shown in FIG. 21 and FIG.22 lies entirely inside the edges of the diaper 20. Alternatively, twoor more discrete fastening sheets may be attached onto the exteriorsurface of the chassis, instead of a single fastening sheet. Forexample, two laterally opposing fastening sheets may be attached inlocations approximately corresponding to the left and right portions ofthe single fastening sheet 116. When a fastening sheet is provided, theadhesive tape tabs may be adhered to the fastening sheet to fasten theback waist region 38 and the front waist region 36 together. Thefastening sheet may be formed of a material used elsewhere in thediaper, such as a film or a nonwoven. In embodiments in which thechassis is extensible, it is preferred that any fastening sheet also beextensible such that the fastening sheet will not restrict theextensibility of the portion of the chassis onto which it is attached.For example, an extensible nonwoven may be used for the fastening sheet.The fastening sheet serves to distribute the tensile force transmittedby each of the adhesive tape tabs over an area of the backsheet 26 thatis larger than the adhered area of the adhesive tape tab. In addition,when a single fastening sheet such as fastening sheet 116 in FIG. 21 andFIG. 22 is used, the fastening sheet may, itself, bear a portion of thetensile force between the laterally opposing adhesive tape tabs andthereby relieve a portion of the force exerted on the backsheet. Thus,the incorporation of such a fastening sheet may be desirable, forexample, in order to make it possible to use a relatively inexpensiveand relatively weak material for the backsheet 26. The fastening sheetmay be formed of a material having greater strength than the backsheet.Such a stronger material may be more expensive per unit area than thebacksheet, but the fastening sheet may be relatively smaller than thebacksheet. Therefore, the total cost of a diaper having a fasteningsheet may be less than the total cost of a diaper having a backsheethaving sufficient strength for adhesive tape tabs to be adhered directlyto the exterior surface of the backsheet.

Exemplary fastening elements in the form of cohesive fastening patchesare described in this application and the description of theirdisposition, configuration, and use is intended to apply to any othertype of incorporated fastening element insofar as is practical for eachsuch type of fastening element.

Exemplary fastening elements in the form of cohesive fastening patchesmay be formed of an inherently crystalline water-based syntheticelastomer to which a tackifying agent has been added to disrupt thepolycrystalline structure and thereby render the elastomer cohesive.Such synthetic cohesive products are available from Andover CoatedProducts, Incorporated, of Salisbury, Mass., U.S.A. and are described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,156,424 issued on 5 Dec. 2000 in the name of Taylor. Acohesive elastomeric fastening element preferably remains extensible inuse. Thus, when applied onto an extensible chassis, such a cohesiveelastomeric fastening element may be capable of extending as theextensible chassis extends. As a result, when subjected to the tensilehoop forces typically found at the waist opening of a diaper when thediaper is worn, the area of attachment of two cohesive elastomericfastening elements to each other may be subject only to a shearingforce, rather than being subjected to a peeling force. This behavior mayenable the fastening elements to remain cohered even when they areextended because cohesive fastening elements typically exhibitrelatively higher resistance to shearing forces than to peeling forces.

Cohesive fastening patches may be formed by the application of acohesive material directly onto the chassis or onto a separate substratethat is in turn attached to the chassis. For example, a “hot melt”cohesive material may be applied in its molten state onto a surface andallowed to cool and solidify to form such a patch. The cohesive materialmay be applied in any of a variety of patterns, such as a continuousfilm, discrete dots, stripes, polygons, etc., and/or spaced andinterconnected geometric elements describing a grid.

Exemplary cohesive fastening patches are shown incorporated into thechassis in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 6, FIG. 10, FIG. 11, FIG. 12,FIG. 15, FIG. 23, and FIG. 24. In these exemplary embodiments, acohesive fastening patch 110 a is disposed on the exterior of thechassis 100 in the front waist region 36 adjacent to the left side edge137 a and a laterally opposing cohesive fastening patch 110 b isdisposed on the exterior of the chassis 100 in the front waist region 36adjacent to the right side edge 137 b. A cohesive fastening patch 120 ais disposed on the interior of the chassis 100 in the back waist region38 adjacent to the left side edge 137 a and a laterally opposingcohesive fastening patch 120 b is disposed on the interior of thechassis 100 in the back waist region 38 adjacent to the right side edge137 b. When the diaper 20 is worn as shown in FIG. 23 and FIG. 24, theback left cohesive fastening patch 120 a overlaps the front leftcohesive fastening patch 110 a and the cohesion of these two cohesivefastening patches fastens the front waist region 36 and the back waistregion 38 together at the left side of the diaper 20. Similarly, theback right cohesive fastening patch 120 b overlaps the front rightcohesive fastening patch 110 b and the cohesion of these two cohesivefastening patches fastens the front waist region 36 and the back waistregion 38 together at the right side of the diaper 20. Thus, theconfiguration of the cohesive fastening patches shown in these figuresis adapted for back-over-front fastening. Alternatively, the frontcohesive fastening patches may be disposed on the interior of thechassis in the front waist region and the back cohesive fasteningpatches may be disposed on the exterior of the chassis in order to adaptthe configuration of the cohesive fastening patches for front-over-backfastening. In FIG. 23 and FIG. 24, the cohesive fastening patches areshown overlapped but not exactly aligned along any of their respectiveedges only for clarity of illustration and can actually be aligned asdesired, e.g., to maximize their areas of overlap.

Alternatively, the cohesive fastening patches may be disposed in areversible configuration that is adapted to provide the user of thediaper 20 with both options for fastening, i.e., either back-over-frontor front-over-back, according to personal preference. When the cohesivefastening patches are disposed on both the exterior and the interior ofthe chassis 100, a back cohesive fastening patch may overlap a frontcohesive fastening patch or the front cohesive fastening patch mayoverlap the back cohesive fastening patch and, in either arrangement,the cohesive fastening patches fasten the front waist region 36 and theback waist region 38 together at the side of the diaper 20. Thus, withthis configuration of the cohesive fastening patches, the fastening ofthe diaper 20 at the sides is reversible so that each side can befastened in a back-over-front manner or, alternatively, in afront-over-back manner.

Two such reversible configurations of cohesive fastening patches areshown in FIG. 25, FIG. 26, FIG. 27, and FIG. 28. In the first of theseexemplary configurations, a cohesive fastening patch 110 a wraps aroundthe left side edge 137 a and is disposed on both the exterior and theinterior of the chassis 100 in the front waist region 36 adjacent to theleft side edge 137 a. A laterally opposing cohesive fastening patch 110b wraps around the right side edge 137 b and is disposed on both theexterior and the interior of the chassis 100 in the front waist region36 adjacent to the right side edge 137 b. Such a continuousconfiguration may be desirable, for example, in order to allow thecohesive polymer for each cohesive fastening patch to be applied in asingle area that is then folded over when the corresponding folded sideflap is formed in a manufacturing process.

In the second exemplary reversible configuration of the cohesivefastening patches, a pair of back cohesive fastening patches 120 a and120 b do not extend around the side edges 137 a and 137 b and thus arenot continuous from the exterior to the interior of the chassis 100.Instead, a back left interior cohesive fastening patch 120 a and a backleft exterior cohesive fastening patch 120 c are disposed on therespective interior and exterior of the chassis 100 adjacent to the leftside edge 137 a in the back waist region 38. Similarly, a back rightinterior cohesive fastening patch 120 b and a back right exteriorcohesive fastening patch 120 d are disposed on the respective interiorand exterior of the chassis 100 adjacent to the right side edge 137 b inthe back waist region 38. Such a discontinuous configuration may bedesirable, for example, in order to allow the cohesive polymer to beapplied after the side flaps are formed in a manufacturing process. Ingeneral, any or all of the cohesive fastening patches may extend aroundthe side edges 137 a and 137 b or may be discontinuous from the exteriorto the interior of the chassis 100.

As an alternative to overlapping cohesive fastening patches to fastenthe front waist region 36 and the back waist region 38 together toencircle the waist and the legs of the wearer, the fastening patches maybe disposed on the interior surface of the chassis and may be abutted ina face-to-face arrangement to form a flanged connection in which, forexample, a portion of the side edge 137 a in the back waist region and aportion of the same side edge 137 a in the front waist region aresuperposed, i.e., unlike an overlapped connection, both of the portionsof the side edge are exposed in such a flanged connection.

The exemplary diapers shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 6, FIG. 10,FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 15, FIG. 23, and FIG. 24 include discretelaterally opposing cohesive fastening patches. Alternatively, a singlelaterally extending cohesive fastening patch may be attached at each ofthe longitudinally opposing waist regions of the diaper. For example,each such single cohesive fastening patch may extend laterally toapproximately the lateral extent that is defined by the laterally distaledges of the discrete cohesive fastening patches shown in these figures.Thus, such a single cohesive fastening patch may have approximately thesame extent and be located in approximately the same location as thefastening sheet 116 shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22.

Description of the Absorbent Assembly

As shown in FIG. 29, FIG. 30, and FIG. 31, the absorbent assembly 200includes an absorbent core 250. The absorbent core 250 has a laterallyextending front edge 256 in the front waist region 36 and alongitudinally opposing and laterally extending back edge 258 in theback waist region 38. The absorbent core 250 also has a longitudinallyextending left side edge 257 a and a laterally opposing andlongitudinally extending right side edge 257 b, both absorbent core sideedges extending longitudinally between the front edge 256 and the backedge 258. Any or all of the respective front edge 256, back edge 258,left side edge 257 a, and right side edge 257 b of the absorbent core250 may lie inward of the respective front edge 236, back edge 238, leftside edge 237 a, and right side edge 237 b of the absorbent assembly200. For example, in the exemplary absorbent assembly 200 shown in FIG.29, the absorbent core 250 has its left side edge 257 a and right sideedge 257 b located laterally inward of, respectively, the left side edge237 a and right side edge 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200.Alternatively, one or more of the edges of the absorbent core 250 maycoincide with the corresponding edge of the absorbent assembly 200. Forexample, in the exemplary absorbent assembly 200 shown in FIG. 29, thefront edge 256 and back edge 258 of the absorbent core 250 coincide withthe respective front edge 236 and back edge 238 of the absorbentassembly 200.

The absorbent assembly 200 may be attached to the chassis 100 over anypart or the whole of the area of the absorbent assembly 200. Preferably,the absorbent assembly 200 is attached on its exterior surface 204 tothe chassis 100 in a cruciform attachment pattern, i.e., in anattachment pattern that forms or is arranged in a cross or “+” shape.The cruciform attachment pattern may be contiguous, i.e., all of itsportions may be touching or connected throughout the pattern in anunbroken sequence. Alternatively, the cruciform attachment pattern mayinclude detached portions and thereby lack contiguity but still bearranged such that the shape of the overall pattern is a cruciform. Forexample, a discontiguous cruciform attachment pattern may include alongitudinally extending portion disposed along the longitudinal axisand separate left and right laterally distal portions disposed along oradjacent to the lateral axis and thereby form a cruciform as the shapeof the overall pattern.

An exemplary contiguous cruciform attachment pattern 210 is shown inFIG. 26, FIG. 29, FIG. 30, and FIG. 31. The portions of the chassis 100that lie outside such a cruciform attachment pattern are not restrainedby attachment to the absorbent assembly 200 and therefore remainextensible. In particular, a relatively narrow longitudinally extendingportion 212 of a cruciform attachment pattern 210 like that shown inFIG. 29 and FIG. 31 leaves the majority of the width of the chassis 100in the front waist region 36 and in the back waist region 38 freelyextensible and thereby allows extension of the chassis 100 in thelateral direction in these regions. A relatively wide laterallyextending portion 214 of a cruciform attachment pattern 210 like thatshown in FIG. 29 and FIG. 30 prevents the portion of the chassis 100 inthe crotch region 37 to which the absorbent assembly 200 is attachedfrom shifting relative to the absorbent assembly 200 in that region. Arelatively wide laterally extending portion 214 of a cruciformattachment pattern 210 may also contribute to the effectiveness of theside flaps 147 a and 147 b when the elastic strands 167 a and 167 b liftthe proximal edges 157 a and 157 b into contact with the body of thewearer. For example, if the chassis 100 in the crotch region 37 werefree to shift laterally inward, i.e., toward the longitudinal axis 42such that the left side edge 137 a and/or the right side edge 137 bmoved toward the longitudinal axis 42, the side flaps 147 a and 147 bmight easily distort and fail to maintain contact with the body.However, because the relatively wide laterally extending portion 214 ofthe cruciform attachment pattern 210 restrains the chassis 100 over arelatively wide portion of the width of the crotch region 37, the sideflaps 147 a and 147 b are better supported at their bases while beinglifted by the elastic strands 167 a and 167 b.

The cruciform attachment pattern 210 in FIG. 29, FIG. 30, and FIG. 31extends laterally from near the left side edge 237 a to near the rightside edge 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200 at and adjacent to thelateral axis 44, but does not extend laterally to this extent over thefull length of the absorbent assembly 200. Similarly, the cruciformattachment pattern 210 in FIG. 29, FIG. 30, and FIG. 31 extendslongitudinally from near the front edge 236 to near the back edge 238 ofthe absorbent assembly 200 at and adjacent to the longitudinal axis 42,but does not extend longitudinally to this extent over the full width ofthe absorbent assembly 200. Alternatively, the cruciform attachmentpattern 210 may extend to any or all of the side edges 237 a and 237 band the front edge 236 and the back edge 238 of the absorbent assembly200. For example, the cruciform attachment pattern 210 may extendlaterally from the left side edge 237 a to the right side edge 237 b ofthe absorbent assembly 200, but may extend longitudinally only a part ofthe distance from the front edge 236 to the back edge 238 of theabsorbent assembly 200. Within the extent of the cruciform attachmentpattern 210, the absorbent assembly 200 may be attached to the chassis100 continuously or intermittently. For example, a film of an adhesivemay be applied continuously over the entire area of the cruciformattachment pattern and then used to continuously attach the absorbentassembly to the chassis. As an alternative example, an adhesive may beapplied discontinuously at and inside the boundaries of the cruciformattachment pattern, such as in the form of dots, stripes, beads,spirals, etc., and then used to attach the absorbent assembly to thechassis. The cruciform attachment pattern 210 may be disposedsymmetrically with respect to either or both of the longitudinal axis 42and the lateral axis 44 of the chassis 100. Alternatively, the cruciformattachment pattern 210 may be disposed asymmetrically with respect toeither or both of the longitudinal axis 42 and the lateral axis 44. Forexample, the cruciform attachment pattern 210 shown in FIG. 29 isdisposed symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis 42 andasymmetrically with respect to the lateral axis 44. In particular, thecruciform attachment pattern 210 shown in FIG. 29 is disposedasymmetrically toward the front waist region 36. Also, the laterallyextending portion 214 of the cruciform attachment pattern 210 may belocated distant from the lateral axis 44 and the longitudinallyextending portion 212 of the cruciform attachment pattern 210 maysimilarly be located distant from the longitudinal axis 42. In addition,the cruciform attachment pattern 210 may be disposed symmetrically withrespect to either or both of the side edges 237 a and 237 b and thefront edge 236 and the back edge 238 of the absorbent assembly 200. Forexample, the cruciform attachment pattern 210 shown in FIG. 29 isdisposed symmetrically with respect to both the side edges 237 a and 237b and the front edge 236 and the back edge 238, i.e., the cruciformattachment pattern 210 shown in FIG. 29 is centered on the absorbentassembly 200. Alternatively, the cruciform attachment pattern 210 may bedisposed asymmetrically with respect to either or both of the side edges237 a and 237 b and front edge 236 and back edge 238 of the absorbentassembly 200, i.e., the cruciform attachment pattern 210 may be disposedoff-center on the absorbent assembly 200.

The absorbent core 250 may be disposed between a lower covering sheetthat is disposed on the exterior face of the absorbent core 250 in aface-to-face arrangement with the interior surface 102 of the chassisand an upper covering sheet that is disposed on the interior face of theabsorbent core 250. Such an upper covering sheet and lower coveringsheet may be attached together to contain the absorbent core 250 betweenthem and thereby form the absorbent assembly 200. For example, in theexemplary absorbent assembly 200 shown in FIG. 29, FIG. 30, and FIG. 31,an upper covering sheet 24 and a lower covering sheet 25 are attachedtogether at or adjacent to the side edges 237 a and 237 b of theabsorbent assembly 200 in longitudinally extending adhesive attachmentzones 29 a and 29 b. Alternatively, the upper covering sheet 24 and thelower covering sheet 25 may be attached together in places other thanthe side edges 237 a and 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200, e.g., ator adjacent to the end edges 236 and 238 of the absorbent assembly 200,or at or adjacent to both the end edges 236 and 238 and the side edges237 a and 237 b.

The upper covering sheet 24 is water-permeable and allows liquid wasteto pass through to the absorbent core 250, where the liquid waste isabsorbed. The lower covering sheet 25 may be water-impermeable. However,the lower covering sheet 25 preferably is water-permeable. Inembodiments in which both the upper covering sheet 24 and the lowercovering sheet 25 are water-permeable, any liquid waste that isdeposited onto the upper covering sheet 24 but does not pass through theupper covering sheet 24 to the absorbent core 250 can flow around anedge of the absorbent assembly 200 to reach the lower covering sheet 25and then pass through the lower covering sheet 25 to the absorbent core250.

The upper covering sheet 24 may form the interior surface 202 of theabsorbent assembly 200 that is intended to be placed against the body ofthe wearer. The upper covering sheet 24 preferably is formed of a softmaterial that will not irritate the skin of the wearer. Many materialsthat are suitable for a water-permeable covering sheet are well-known inthe art, including synthetic nonwovens such as spunbonded or cardedpolypropylene, polyester, or rayon. Likewise, many materials that aresuitable for a covering sheet that is water-impermeable are well-knownin the art, including the materials that are suitable for the backsheet26.

The upper covering sheet 24 and the lower covering sheet 25 may extendto the same width and the same length. Alternatively, one or more of theedges of one of the covering sheets may lie distally relative to therespective edge or edges of the other covering sheet. For example, theupper covering sheet may extend longitudinally only to an extentsufficient to cover the absorbent core and the lower covering sheet mayextend longitudinally beyond the upper covering sheet toward or to theadjacent waist edge. Such an extended covering sheet may serve toisolate the skin of the wearer from a portion of the backsheet 26 as maybe desirable, for example, when the diaper 20 is worn under conditionsin which contact between the skin and a backsheet film could beuncomfortable.

Suitable absorbent materials for the absorbent core are well-known,including cellulose fibers in the form of comminuted wood pulp, which iscommonly known as “airfelt”, layers or sheets of natural or syntheticfibrous material, superabsorbent polymer, etc. These absorbent materialsmay be used separately or in combination. Many known absorbent materialsmay be used in a discrete form, i.e., in the form of fibers, granules,particles, and the like. Such a discrete form of an absorbent materialmay be immobilized by an adhesive that attaches the discrete piecestogether to form a coherent layer or that attaches the discrete piecesto a substrate layer, such as a covering sheet, or that attaches thediscrete pieces both to each other and to the substrate layer.

Alternatively, the discrete form of an absorbent material may beimmobilized in pockets formed by a layer of a thermoplastic material,such as a hot melt adhesive, that intermittently contacts and adheres toa substrate, such as a covering sheet, while diverging away from thesubstrate at the pockets. Absorbent assemblies having such structuresare described in U.S. Patent Application Publications Nos. 2004/0162536of 19 Aug. 2004 and 2004/0167486 of 26 Aug. 2004. An exemplary absorbentassembly 200 having such a structure is shown in FIG. 32. In thisabsorbent assembly 200, the absorbent core 250 includes particles ofsuperabsorbent polymer 270 that are contained inside pockets 280 formedby a layer 275 of a thermoplastic material. This absorbent core 250contains no cellulose fibers. Alternatively, the absorbent core 250 mayinclude both particles of superabsorbent polymer and airfelt and bothmaterials may be contained inside the pockets formed by the layer of thethermoplastic material. As shown in FIG. 32, the layer 275 of thethermoplastic material intermittently contacts and adheres to the lowercovering sheet 25 at the areas of attachment 282. Between the areas ofattachment 282, the layer 275 diverges away from the lower coveringsheet 25 to form the pockets 280. The layer 275 may have the form of asheet of fibers of the thermoplastic material through which the liquidwaste may pass to the particles of superabsorbent polymer 270 to beabsorbed.

In FIG. 32, a separate upper covering sheet 24 is shown overlying thelayer 275 of the thermoplastic material. Alternatively, the separateupper covering sheet 24 may be omitted and the layer 275 in the form ofa fibrous sheet may serve as the upper covering sheet 24. As anotheralternative, two absorbent assemblies each like that shown in FIG. 32except for the omission of the upper covering sheet 24 may be superposedwith one absorbent assembly inverted such that its pockets nest into therecesses at the areas of attachment 282 of the other absorbent assemblyand the respective single covering sheets distally oppose each other. Insuch a combined absorbent assembly 200, the distally opposing singlecovering sheets may serve respectively as the upper covering sheet 24and the lower covering sheet 25.

In the exemplary absorbent assembly 200 shown in FIG. 29, FIG. 30, andFIG. 31, the upper covering sheet 24 and the lower covering sheet 25 areof the same size, i.e., both the upper covering sheet 24 and the lowercovering sheet 25 extend to the front edge 236 and back edge 238, aswell as to the left side edge 237 a and right side edge 237 b of theabsorbent assembly 200. Alternatively, the upper covering sheet 24 andthe lower covering sheet 25 may differ in size. For example, the lowercovering sheet 25 may be larger than the upper covering sheet 24 and maybe wrapped over the side edges 257 a and 257 b of the absorbent core 250onto the interior surface of the absorbent core 250, where the uppercovering sheet 24 and the lower covering sheet 25 may be attachedtogether. Alternatively, in place of a separate upper covering sheet 24and a separate lower covering sheet 25, a single covering sheet may bewrapped around the absorbent core 250 and attached to itself to containthe absorbent core 250. Such a single covering sheet forms an upperlayer and a lower layer when wrapped around the absorbent core 250 and,in general, the description of the separate upper covering sheet 24 andlower covering sheet 25 are intended to apply to such upper and lowerlayers of a wrapped single covering sheet.

At a minimum, the absorbent core 250 is contained laterally by thecovering sheet or sheets being wrapped around the absorbent core 250 orattached together at or adjacent to the left side edge 237 a and rightside edge 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200. For example, in theexemplary absorbent assembly 200 shown in FIG. 29, FIG. 30, and FIG. 31,the upper covering sheet 24 and the lower covering sheet 25 are attachedtogether only in left adhesive attachment zone 29 a and right adhesiveattachment zone 29 b at or adjacent to the respective left side edge 237a and right side edge 237 b of the absorbent assembly 200. In thisembodiment, the upper covering sheet 24 and the lower covering sheet 25cannot be attached directly together at or adjacent to the front edge236 and back edge 238 because the absorbent core 250 extends the fulllength of the absorbent assembly 200, i.e. the front edge 256 and backedge 258 of the absorbent core 250 coincide with the respective frontedge 236 and back edge 238 of the absorbent assembly 200. In such anembodiment, the upper and lower layers of the covering sheet or sheetsmay each be attached to the absorbent core 250 at or adjacent to thefront edge 256 and back edge 258 of the absorbent core 250 to form asandwich. In addition, a sealing agent may be applied at or adjacent tothe front edge 256 and back edge 258 of the absorbent core 250 tocontain any fibers or particles that might otherwise escape theabsorbent core 250. Alternatively, instead of being contained onlylaterally by the covering sheet or sheets, the absorbent core 250 mayadditionally be contained longitudinally by the upper and lower layersof the covering sheet or sheets being attached together at or adjacentto the front edge 236 and back edge 238 of the absorbent assembly 200.

STATEMENTS OF INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE AND INTENDED SCOPE OF CLAIMS

The disclosures of all patents, patent applications and any patentswhich issue thereon, as well as any corresponding published foreignpatent applications, and all publications listed and/or referenced inthis description, are hereby incorporated herein by reference. It isexpressly not admitted that any of the documents or any combination ofthe documents incorporated herein by reference teaches or discloses thepresent invention.

While particular embodiments and/or individual features of the presentinvention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious tothose skilled in the art that various other changes and modificationscan be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Further, it should be apparent that all combinations of suchembodiments and features are possible and can result in preferredexecutions of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intendedto cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope ofthis invention.

1. A disposable absorbent article comprising: a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region between the waist regions, a front waist edge, and a back waist edge; a longitudinal axis extending from a midpoint of the front waist edge through the crotch region to a midpoint of the longitudinally opposed back waist edge; a web comprising an interior surface and an exterior surface; an absorbent assembly comprising an interior surface and an exterior surface; wherein the web is folded at a first fold line and attached to itself forming a first hem, wherein the first hem comprises a first layer and a second layer, and wherein the second layer is disposed between the first layer and the backsheet; wherein the web is folded at a second fold line and attached to itself forming a second hem, wherein the second hem comprises a first layer and a second layer, and wherein the second layer is disposed between the first layer and the backsheet; wherein the web is folded over at a third fold line toward the longitudinal axis and attached to the interior surface of one or both of the web and absorbent assembly in the front and back waist regions forming a first side flap, the third fold line forming a first side edge of the diaper; wherein the web is folded over at a fourth fold line toward the longitudinal axis and attached to the interior surface of one or both of the web and absorbent assembly in the front and back waist regions forming a second side flap, the fourth fold line forming a second side edge of the diaper; wherein the first side flap comprises the first hem and wherein the second side flap comprises the second hem; wherein each of the first and second hems comprise a longitudinally extending gathering member; and wherein the proximal edges of the first and second side flaps are disposed laterally inward of the respective side edges.
 2. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the web comprises altered and unaltered regions, and wherein the altered region of the web is formed by deformation.
 3. The disposable absorbent article of claim 2 wherein the altered region of the web comprises a pattern of alternating ridges and valleys created by a deformation.
 4. The disposable absorbent article of claim 3 wherein the ridges and valleys are generally longitudinally oriented.
 5. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the absorbent assembly comprises an absorbent core comprising a layer of particles of superabsorbent polymer that are adhered to the absorbent core via adhesive.
 6. The disposable absorbent article of claim 5 wherein at least a portion of the diaper in one of the waist regions is laterally extensible to a maximum extensibility greater than a maximum extensibility of at least a portion of the diaper in the crotch region.
 7. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the side flaps are attached to the interior surface of the web in laterally opposing attachment zones immediately adjacent to the first and second side edges of the diaper, respectively.
 8. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein fastening elements for fastening the front waist region to the back waist region to encircle a waist and a leg of a wearer are attached to the web.
 9. The disposable absorbent article of claim 8 wherein the fastening elements include at least one fastening sheet attached to the exterior surface of the web.
 10. The disposable absorbent article of claim 8 wherein the fastening elements comprise mechanical fastening elements.
 11. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the absorbent assembly includes a water-permeable covering sheet and an absorbent core, wherein the covering sheet is disposed on an interior face of the absorbent core and the absorbent assembly, and wherein the absorbent assembly also includes a second water-permeable covering sheet disposed on an exterior face of the absorbent core.
 12. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the absorbent assembly is attached to the interior surface of the web.
 13. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the absorbent assembly is attached to the web via an attachment pattern comprising a longitudinally extending portion disposed along the longitudinal axis and at least one laterally distal portion.
 14. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the absorbent assembly is attached to the web via a discontiguous attachment pattern.
 15. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the absorbent assembly comprises a first absorbent core comprising particles of superabsorbent polymer that are contained inside pockets formed by a thermoplastic material, and wherein the absorbent assembly comprises a second absorbent core comprising particles of superabsorbent polymer that are contained inside pockets formed by a thermoplastic material.
 16. The disposable absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the web is not laterally continuous.
 17. The disposable absorbent article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the web is attached directly to itself to form the first and second hems.
 18. The disposable absorbent article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the web is attached directly to itself to form the first and second side flaps.
 19. The disposable absorbent article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the web comprises a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first layer of the web is not laterally continuous.
 20. The disposable absorbent article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the web is longitudinally continuous. 